"It's important that we know," Girardi said. "Because if we're not going to have him, we need to fill that void. It does cause us to think a lot about, 'Do we need a third baseman or do we not need a third baseman?'

The appeal will resume on Nov. 18. When it concludes, the arbitrator has 25 days to make a decision. That could leave the Yankees' plans in limbo for a few weeks during the heat of baseball's offseason. MLB's Winter Meetings run from Dec. 9-12.

The 38-year-old Rodriguez missed most of last season with various injuries, including a hip ailment that required major surgery. He returned the day his suspension was announced in August. He hit .244 with seven homers and 19 RBI in the two months of action.